Skin Wars' Michael Mejia Says 'HIV Stigma Is The Real Illness'

Former Skin Wars contestant and
out artist Michael Mejia says in a new interview with gay glossy The
Advocate that fear of HIV keeps people from getting tested and
sharing their status.

Last month, Mejia, 26, revealed that
he's living with HIV, telling Plus magazine that coping with
the stigma of HIV has been more difficult than accepting the
diagnosis.

“It certainly has been difficult,”
he
told The
Advocate. “My initial reaction was fear. I thought I would
be ill for the rest of my life and die from it. Fortunately, we are
in an era of incredible scientific advancement where HIV is now a
manageable condition that people can live with, continue to be
healthy, and live a normal life span without complications. The
difficult part about being HIV-positive hasn’t been accepting the
diagnosis, but coping with the absurd amount of stigma that comes
along with it. Everyone is full of fear when they think of HIV and
it’s because of ignorance. This fear is holding people back from
getting tested regularly and keeping HIV-positive people from sharing
their status. We need to end HIV stigma because stigma is the real
illness we should be alarmed by.”

He added that he decided to come out
because he knows “there are many people out there that have been
recently diagnosed and may feel alone.”

Mejia made it to the top four on the
third season of Game Show Network's body painting reality competition
Skin Wars.